


Twilight Baker

by Darkwolves602



Category: Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland
Genre: F/F, Magic Pie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-02
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-04-29 15:04:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5131997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkwolves602/pseuds/Darkwolves602
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While researching Alchemy techniques Rorona stumbled across a recipe for the ‘Twilight Pie’.</p>
<p>And of course, as a naïve young alchemy student, Rorona can’t wait to make it for all her friends…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Twilight Baker

In all of her life Rorona had never once have thought this is what fate had envisioned for her. Less than a year ago she had lived her life as an apprentice tending to the workshop under the guidance of her alchemy master.

Then one day a royal messenger arrived to deliver an order that the workshop was to be shutdown immediately. Rorona later discovered that the minister and the king had decreed that if the workshop could demonstrate their ability to perform their duties then they would allow the workshop to remain open. Atelier Rorona, even in her wildest dreams would she have ever imagined that she would become the owner of the workshop herself and instantly be called upon to take it upon herself to protect it.

A year had passed since that day. Rorona had already completed three of the tasks set before her, but still the looming threat of foreclosure lingered precariously above her head. Now her latest task saw her busy preparing food for the Arland Annual Festival, a celebration held at the close of every year. This particular task was something which touched something very deep and personal to the young girl as almost all of her life she had maintained a single passion above all else, pie baking. Yet despite her love of the art, and the skill she applied to each craft, her Master had forbade her from creating pies through baking, only alchemy. And so now, with the yearly festival approaching, she saw an opportunity to combine her twin passions in service of her kingdom and her workshop.

That was why she had spent the last few days enclosed within her workshop, hunched at her desk rifling through the pages of yet another alchemy text in search of something she could create using alchemy to present for the festival. So far her search had yielded mixed results but nothing to her benefit. Each of the recipes she had found were either too advanced, requiring materials and techniques she had never heard of, or would likely prove too ‘specialist’ for most people, meaning the ingredient list called for either wolf tails or Audra livers. Both would be unlikely to improve her reputation with the townspeople. So her search continued, although she was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to find something approp-

Her hand suddenly froze, her gaze inexplicably drawn towards the title of the latest page she had stumbled across, the words ‘ _Twilight Pastry_ ’ were written in faded black ink across the page. Reading further on the book detailed the necessary ingredients and concoctions, most of which appeared surprisingly feasible if a little obscure. The last section ended with the description ‘ _A tasty treat that will realize the true desires of anyone who eats it_ ’.                                                                                                                      

Rorona rose from her chair in a triumphant leap, it was settled, she had found her festival synthesis.

 

***********************

Another day came and went, consumed entirely by mixing, boiling and stirring in the cauldron to create the very first batch of her latest advancement in the craft of pie making. Laid out on her desk before her was the first sample of Roronas new concoction, the Twilight Pie. From the outside it appeared as any normal pie would be expected, a perfect circle of flaky brown crust. However cutting inside it revealed a dark centre of tranquil blue filling glowing dimly with a cerulean light unseen in normal baking which hinted at its mysteriously unknown properties. Rorona took the first slice in her hand, eager to sample the first taste of her work, she brought the treat to her lips and-

“ _Pupil_ ” a voice called out to distract Rorona from tasting her creation. Turning to face the voice Rorona was stunned to find her master, Astrid Zexis, standing across the workshop. Master was unique in that she seemed to possess this uncanny ability to appear as if from nowhere at any time and any place, to this day Rorona had been unable to see her coming. “What are you up to this time?”

“Master!” Rorona responded instinctively to her master’s presence “I…” she stumbled.

“Have you been baking again?” Astrid spoke with poisonous suspicion lacing her lips. “What have I told you about that?”

“No Master” Rorona was swift to defend herself and counter her Masters suspicions. “I made it using an old alchemy recipe I found” Rorona displayed her craft to Astrid like a child presenting their work for a parent’s approval.

Astrid simply stared down at her with judgemental eyes. “Let me try it” she said flatly.

Rorona eagerly prepared a slice and presented it to her master as if an offering to a deity. Astrid accepted the gift and after a careful analysis, as if checking whether the seemingly tasty creation was deemed safe for human consumption, she took a cautious bite. Chewing it softly the flavour cascaded across her tongue, a plethora of favours unveiling.

“Well, how is it?” Rorona eagerly awaited her master’s judgement.

A devilish glint emerged in Astrid’s eye as her body began to waver unsteadily. “You know…” the woman’s speech seemed slurred and uncoordinated, as if she was struggling even to remember her own words. “You really are cute”

“Master?” the sudden change struck fear into Rorona, Master always so calm and controlled suddenly seemed to be having difficulty simply remaining upright.

“Heh heh, Ror...on...a” Astrid giggled. She began shambling forward with an uncoordinated gait, her unsteadiness finally reaching its peak as she stumbled forward, the sudden support of her pupil allowing her to descend to her knees rather than collapse unceremoniously onto the floor. “So cute, so pretty”

“Master, what’s going on? Are you ok?” Rorona pleaded with concern.

“It’s so warm” Astrid replied, staring blindly off into the distance. “And these clothes” Astrid’s hands clasped the tie of her cloak between her fingers. “They’re so tight”

“No master!” Rorona was quick to clasp her Masters hands before she could continue further.

Rorona quickly moved over to her desk, frantically searching for the reference text which held the original recipe, she began leafing through the pages I search of the one she wanted.

_‘Twilight Pie’_

_Reveals your true self and allows your greatest desire to manifest as reality._

_WARNING: Ingestion may cause sudden and drastic personality changes. Only to be administered with full knowledge of its effects. No known antidote to symptoms. Effects typically dissipate within 24 hours of consumption dependent on potency and individual variation._

As she read it her heart began to sink as the stark realization of what she had done swept over the young girl.

“You really are such a cutie” Astrid cooed softly. Rorona was stunned into silence as she suddenly felt the weight of Astrid’s arms falling upon her shoulders for support. “Fourteen” Astrid seemed almost mournful. “I miss those days, mature enough to understand the world, but not so jaded as to lose that glint of youth”

“Master, what are you talking about?” Rorona tried to turn to face her master, feeling the woman’s grip on her shoulders slowly slipping away as she turned just as Astrid’s hold released and she fell kneeling before her student. “Master” Rorona quickly dropped to her knees to stare into her Masters eyes, like this she seemed so innocent, so delicate.

Then she realised. Her Masters’ greatest desire must have been to not be so mean all the time, to finally be able to be nice to her student. In that moment Rorona felt herself wish that she could have stayed like this, at least for a little while. But she knew that would be wrong, she had to change her back.

“Master” Rorona cupped Astrid’s cheeks in her hands; she felt tears welling in the corners of her eyes. “I’m so sorry I poisoned you and let you do all those things” Rorona sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes, rousing her courage from deep inside of her, she knew now that she had to be strong. “You’re going to be like this for a little while, but I promise I’m going to take care of you. I’ll do the cooking and clean the workshop until you’re all better and...” Astrid cooed softly beneath her breath, as if readying the courage to finally speak her mind. “Master?” Rorona asked with anxiety on her lips, drawing herself closer to try and make some sense of the stifled whimpers. “What’s wrong?”

Astrid could not contain herself any longer and suddenly burst into a fit of uncontrolled laughter which sent her pupil reeling backwards to land in a painful heap on the floor in front of her. “Oh how I wished I could have held out a little bit longer” Astrid’s laughter finally settled, allowing her to finally make her confession. “You never poisoned me” Astrid giggled through quivering lips. “You cooked it too long and destroyed the potency of the hallucinogen, your pies a dud”

“How did you know?” Rorona asked. “I found the recipe in an old book covered in dust and...”

“Oh, I was making that one before I was barely a woman” Astrid pulled herself to her feet, settling the ruffles and creases of her outfit. “It was always a lot of fun at parties”

“But” Rorona was stunned into silence; it was all she could do to maintain her composure as she pulled herself to her feet. “Why would you make me think I had done that to you?”

“I recognised the recipe and decided to play a little trick on you, but honestly I just wanted an excuse to do all those things” Astrid simply giggled with a devious smirk on her lips. “You just proved so damn gullible I just couldn’t resist”

“That was mean, Master!” Rorona snapped.

Astrid merely yawned in the face of her pupil’s impotent rage. “I think I'm going to take a nap and isn’t it time back to work, you have got a feast to prepare for. Oh and by the way, cooking and cleaning are your chores anyway so I don’t see how doing them would have made ME feel any better” with the final word Astrid swiftly departed into her personal quarters leaving her pupil little choice but to return quietly to her Alchemy.

 

**************************

A knock at the door roused the young alchemist from her work, only now realising that several hours had already passed since she had returned to preparing food for the festival. “Come in” Rorona called out, adding the finishing touches to the next stage of her synthesis. She turned to find the owner of ‘R and T Sundries’, Tiffani Hildlebrand, standing before the door of her workshop.

“Hello Rorona” Tiffani said sweetly. “I just came to deliver your order from the shop”

“Oh yes” the realisation dawned upon the young girl. “Come in, Ms. Tiffani” Rorona placed the vials of her freshly prepared chemicals down by her cauldron to talk with her guest. “How are you today?”

“I’m well, thank you Rorona” Tiffani replied. “Are you ok, you seem remarkably downbeat?”

“I’m afraid I’ve been busy preparing food for the festival” Rorona admitted with a weary sigh. “I did have a new pie recipe I was going to show but Master said I made it wrong and it didn’t come out the way I’d planned”

Tiffani noticed the freshly baked pie sitting atop Roronas desk. “Is this the pie you made?”

“Yes, that’s it” Rorona remarked off handily.  “I found a recipe in an old textbook and decided to make it. It’s called the ‘ _Twilight Pie_ ’”

“Sounds exotic” Tiffani mused. “May I try some?”

“Sure, it may as well not go to waste” Rorona prepared a fresh slice of pie, handing it to her guest for tasting.

“Ooh, looks tasty. So what was it supposed to do?” Tiffani took her first cautious taste.

“Something about revealing a person’s greatest inner desire and changing their personality but Master said I baked it too long and-” Rorona slowly trailed off as she saw the glint emerging in Tiffani’s eye.

“You know” Tiffani whispered beneath hushed breath. “You really are cute”

 

********************

Rorona hysterically scrambled back to her desk, frantically searching for the recipe text.

_May cause sudden and drastic personality changes, effects typically last 24 hours… but may remain for several weeks dependant on the potency of the formula and individual variation-_

“Roronaaa” Tiffani cooed softly as she slowly crept silently on her unwitting prey, draping her arms across Roronas small shoulders. “There you are” Tiffani’s fingers interlocked, securing her arms around Roronas swan like neck and ensuring no possibility of escape for the young girl. “There you are, I’ve got you now” Tiffani began to pull Rorona backwards, out of reach of her tome.

“Ms Tiffani?” Rorona pleaded. Tiffani’s unfettered hands, unrestrained by the subtle morals and restraints of society, roamed freely across Roronas thin figure, until they came to rest atop Roronas petite mounds. “Hey, don’t touch me there!” Rorona yelped sharply. But it seemed that her cries of protest were in vain as no one was within reach who could help her, yet still she persisted.

“Pupil, will you keep it down in there” the voice of her master called out for her silence.

“Master, help me!” Rorona pleaded once more as Tiffani’s hands dared bind her ever tighter.

Rorona heard the distinctive click of the lock of her Masters personal quarters, finally her Master emerged out into the workshop. “Yes what is it? Oh!” a devious smile emerged across Astrid’s lips. “Oh, am I interrupting something?”

“Master, help me!” Rorona pleaded.

“What happened here?” Astrid asked. Her gaze passed to the slice of freshly eaten pie sitting atop her apprentice’s desk, and her agile mind was quick to form the pieces together. “It seems that you are rather more of an alchemist than I first thought”

“Master!” Rorona pleaded. “Whats going on?”

“Hmm, I’m uncomfortable to admit that I’m not quite sure. Delayed effects, concentrated potency” Astrid shrugged her shoulders. “Could be anything really” her off handed dismissiveness suddenly faltered. “I can see I’m not needed here, I’ll leave you two alone” with her final word made Astrid moved gracefully across the workshop, her apprentices cries for assistance falling on deaf ears.

“Master!” Rorona called after her master one final time, the harsh crash of the closing door the only response to her calls.

“Now” Tiffani’s roaming hands swiftly regained their perch on her young captive. “You are all mine”


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Alchemist and the Shop Keeper

 

Tiffani wasted little time in securing her quarry in her grasp, making use of her superior size she pulled the small girl into her arms. Tiffani reached out to pluck a fresh slice of pie from the table, holding the struggling girl to her chest with her free arm. “You look hungry” Tiffani held the tasty treat before Roronas lips. “Come on, just a little bite. It’s good for you”

Rorona refused to taste of the forbidden pie, her lips pursed in silent defiance of the offered sweet. What Rorona had yet to realise was just how cunning and decisive this new Tiffani could prove. While Rorona was consumed in resisting the womans frontal assault the fingers of her left hand slipped stealthily around her side to strike where she had least anticipated. Tiffani’s long agile fingers touched and caressed Roronas side, tickling and preying upon her most vulnerable points within her reach. The ruse succeeded as she had anticipated, her young captive bursting into fits of barely contained laughter. Tiffani pounced upon the opening as it appeared, forcing the tainted treat past Rorona’s lips. Acting on instinct Roronas sense followed several seconds behind the rest of her, ensuring that the tainted cake had already been bitten off, chewed and swallowed before the reality of the situation finally dawned upon her.

“That’s a good girl” Tiffani’s motherly tone calming Rorona even as her mind panicked. Rorona could barely comprehend what was to come, her fear lead to panic, her panic helped to spread the magical essence through her body. How would she know when the infection took hold, was there even a hope of maintaining any lingering memory of who she was-

“Is it just me?” Tiffani asked. “Or is it becoming rather warm in here” Tiffani reached up to caress the tie of her apron around her waist, a single pull was all that was necessary for the two strands of fabric to come apart, lifting the light, frilly material over her head she cast the unnecessary garment aside.

With her apron removed she reached up to the top clasp of her sea blue top between her fingers, beginning to release the small clasp holding it in place, descending one by one down her front. Without a thought or hesitation Roronas hands lunged forward to hold the released clasp in place before it could fall open, clearly some small sense of prudence still remained. Tiffani leapt at the opportunity to clasp at Roronas chest in her hands while she was detracted, squeezing and rubbing the soft mounds in her palms. “You’re so soft; I wish I was still young”

Rorona felt herself being swept up in the moment, leaning forward Rorona pressed her face into Tiffani’s heaving bosom. “You’re very pretty Ms Tiffani” Rorona cooed softly, listening the soft beat of Tiffanis heat in her chest.

“You’re so sweet little one” Tiffani passed her free fingers through Roronas cherry pink hair in a gentle caress. “Never surrender that sweet innocence of youth” Tiffani sighed softly, taking in the serene silence of their surroundings. “We’re all alone now, I think it’s time for…” she purred. Her free fingers drifted down her front, her deft fingers releasing the tie of her skirt. With no support the light fabric fluttered to the floor. “Oh, there it goes”

Roronas breath caught in her throat. The very idea that she would be standing in front of Miss Tiffany while she was dressed, or not dressed, as she-

“I loved my husband with all my heart” Tiffany said. “But in his absence I’ve found there is nothing better left in this world than the touch of a young girl”

Tiffani wrapped her arms around Roronas shoulders, leaning forward to caress her lips against Roronas. “Come here you”

Tiffani pressed her lips to Roronas, Rorona fought to maintain her composure as the combination of alchemetical pie and pleasure circled through her…

 

 

Roronas eyes flickered open. The warm glow of morning sunlight pierced through the fluttering curtains across the workshop. As her mind returned to reality she pulled herself up on her sofa, having unknowingly been redressed into her clothes. In the back of her mind she promised herself she would never use the magic of the pie again.

 

******************************

Several months had passed Roronas discovery of the Twilight Pie and she continued the long struggle to maintain her workshop. In her travels Rorona had met a travelling performer in the town square, the girls name was Lionela Heinze, but Rorona had simply nicknamed her Liona. It seemed despite her profession Liona’s social anxiety confined her circle of friends to her two performing puppets. When she performed she was so confident and graceful like a proud lion, but the moment the performance ended she became a mouse once more.

After some persuasion and encouragement Lionela had agreed to come and hang out at the workshop for the day. Rorona hoped that by spending some time together with her friend would help her come out of her shell and overcome her anxiety.

Shortly before Liona arrived Rorona finished preparing an array of fresh snacks for the two of them. However unbeknownst to Rorona her Master had chosen to secrete a sample of freshly made ‘pie’ amongst the assorted snacks. Her master considered it something of an experiment as well as another opportunity to psychologically manipulate her young pupil in equal measure.

 

Lionela and Rorona sat in the alchemy workshop, nibbling idly on snacks as they talked on varied topics of travel, alchemy and their time shared together. Lionela took an innocent bite of pie and began to fall uncharacteristically quiet, her gaze descending into her lap.

“Liona?” Rorona asked with deep concern twitching in her voice.

“You know” Lionela looked up, a devilish glint in her golden eyes. “You really are cute”

“Oh no” Rorona sighed.


End file.
